Watching Christmas On TV

Outside of the typical lineup of It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34^th Street, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, Meet Me in St. Louis, and the original animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas (not the horrible Jim Carrey remake), these are the top 5 Holiday Movies/TV Specials that must be watched every December in our home;

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

The Coen Brother’s wonderful movie about Norville Barnes’ (played by Tim Robbins) journey from the Hudsucker Industries mailroom to president of the company & back down to the sidewalk. “You know, for kids.”

A Wish for Wings that Work (1991)

Berkeley Breathed’s tale of Opus the Penguin’s seemingly never-ending quest for flight. I love this little animated special even if Berkeley himself doesn’t. Bloom County, Outland, and now Opus have been my all-time favorite comic strips for years.

Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999)

A very nice animated holiday special from the Simpson’s creator Matt Groening based on a really great children’s book of the same name. Poor little dog Olive misunderstands Santa’s radio address (following an injury to Blitzen) to make the trip with “all of the other reindeer” as “Olive, the other reindeer.” She is convinced for the rest of the movie that Santa is calling upon her to make it to the North Pole to save his Christmas journey.

Bad Santa (2003)

Okay, this one is kind of a guilty pleasure. But how can you go wrong with Billy Bob Thornton as a con-man Mall Santa, Lauren Graham as a woman with a Santa fetish, and the Coen Brothers directing?

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977)

My lovely wife just doesn’t understand my affinity for this one. But it’s Jim Henson’s muppets in a twist on the old “Gift of the Magi” story. It just ain’t Christmas without hearing the rockin’ tunes of the Riverbottom Nightmare Band & knowing that my brother Willie can always remember the line that follows, “Look at da birds, up in da tree…”